Macenstein’s “Mac Chick of the Month” (August 2007): Lauren Reeves

Welcome to Macenstein’s“Mac Chick of the Month”. Each month we feature a different die-hard, Mac-loving girl who is (almost) as well designed as the Apple products they love. This month we present you with the lovely, Lauren Reeves, a former Alaskan ABC news reporter turned NY actress, comedian, and model and of course, a bonafide Mac Geek! (How BIG a Mac Geek? Well, she sent us her submission in APPLEWORKS for crying out loud! I mean, even WE don’t use AppleWorks!).

Born and raised on a gold mine in Fairbanks, AK, Lauren grew up finding dinosaur and mammoth bones in her backyard and teaching people how to goldpan. “When I was 18, I started working at my local NBC affiliate as a news reporter and anchor. I worked at KTVF for about a year and a half and then moved to Anchorage and worked for the statewide ABC affiliate, the Superstation”.
photo by Emily Bryan

“I covered all aspects of the news from accidents, murders, and trials, to legislative sessions, elections, and scandals. My favorite stories were covering the Iditarod, flying a black hawk to the top of Mount McKinley with the Army, and reporting on the deadly mauling of Timothy Treadwell (a.k.a. Grizzly Man).”

Since moving to New York, Lauren has appeared in various sketches on Conan Oâ€™Brien, David Letterman, and Saturday Night Live. You may recognize her as the â€œMommyâ€ in the Peyton Manning United Way Digital Short on SNL or as Max Weinbergâ€™s 18 year old girlfriend on Conan, or the â€œHooterâ€™s Girlâ€ on Letterman. She’s also the guest host for the CBS Interactive show â€˜Wallstrip.comâ€™ and just finished hosting a new music show for black20.com. Lauren is a Senior Agent (a.k.a. â€œAgent Reevesâ€) for Improv Everywhere and is one of the stars in the NBC pilot, which filmed earlier this year. You can catch Lauren at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre where she will have a weekly improv show starting this September.

Quick facts:NAME: Lauren ReevesAGE: 23LOCATION: Manhattan, from AlaskaOCCUPATION: Actress, Comedian, ModelFIRST APPLE PRODUCT: Video iPodFAVORITE APPLE GEAR: Itâ€™s a tie, the iMac G5 and the iPhoneFAVORITE NON-APPLE GEAR: Sidekick3FAVORITE TV SHOWS: The Office (US version), long live the Sopranos, 30 Rock, Reno 911, Family Guy, The Dog Whisperer, Lost, Heroes, Arrested Development, Saturday Night Live, Entourage, Robot Chicken, Flavor of LoveFAVORITE MOVIES: My all time favorite is Tombstone. I Heart Huckabees, Big Fish, Fight Club, X-3: The Last Stand, WillowON MY iPOD: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, Counting Crows, Green Day, Three Days Grace, Weezer, Bush, Sublime, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jay Z, Outkast, Supernatural, Dashboard Confessional, Natasha Bedingfield, Beastie Boys, Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Candlebox, O.A.R., Live, Lou Reed, Mickey Avalon, Missy Elliott, N.E.R.D., Rihanna, Regina Spektor, Stone Temple Pilots, the Toadies, the White StripesBOOKS:Where the Red Fern Grows; I love anything written by Janet Evanovich; Tropic of Night; and Iâ€™m currently reading Jasper Ffordeâ€™s Thursday Next, The First Among Sequels.HOBBIES: Biking, taking my dog to the park, editing videos on iMovie, writing, reading mystery books, reading celebrity gossip (Iâ€™m a bit obsessed with perezhilton.com), watching and performing in improv shows, going to spin class, playing â€˜Zelda: Legend of the Windwakerâ€™ on my Game Cube, and most outdoor activities.PETS: I have a three and a half year old Golden Retriever named Madison. I got him in Alaska when he was 8 weeks old and moved with him to New York when he was eight months. Heâ€™s now officially a New Yorker.

“As the Mac Chick of the Month, Iâ€™ll admit that I am totally obsessed with Mac,” says Lauren. “It all started when I got my first iMac G5 about two years ago and realized I could do anything and everything with it. I just got a new and improved G5 about two months ago, I also have a MacBook, a couple I-Podâ€™s, and I ditched my sidekick as soon as the IPhone came out. So Iâ€™m pimped out with Mac products, and I feel pretty good about that.”

“I use my computers mostly for work. I edited and put together my own acting reel using iMovie HD and iDVD, and I got my MacBook with the sole purpose of writing a screenplay on it. The problem I ran into with my G5 was that I couldnâ€™t just take it with me. I am gone most of the day and would usually store my writing in my sidekick or in a notebook. How old school! Now I never leave the house without my laptop because I can whip it out everywhere I go.”

“My friends always make fun of me saying that Iâ€™m a 65-year-old trapped in a 23-year-oldâ€™s body, only because my friends go out on the weekends, invite me, and I usually say â€œOh actually, Iâ€™m gonna stay in, I have stuff I want to do on my computer.â€ But those friends must not own Macs, because then maybe theyâ€™d understand.”

woah! Love her! But I actually have to take issue with X3, Count Macula. By FAR the WORST super hero movie in recent memory. Horrible way to end a great trilogy. X2 was awesome though. So unfortunately I guess I can’t marry her. shame…

When Lauren left Alaska for New York flags were lowered to half mast, the statewide university system closed for a week of mourning, admirers wept for weeks on end, and her Dad drank a pallet of Jack Daniels in less than a month. I know, I helped him. Afterwards we beat a grizzly bear with a pair of his dirty socks and turned it loose inside his house. That bear lived a good life. We miss Lauren and congratulate her on being the Mac chik of the month.

Way to go Lauren. You should be the Mac spokesperson. You’re funny, smart and bright and show a level of class women everywhere can appreciate. I know I do. I work at Dell and wish you were the face our customers see when they visit our corporate online presence. I’m in distribution and meet with our marketing group fairly often. I’ll mention you to them. Sometimes they listen. Again, very nice and very classy. You must know Small Bob. He sounds like a real fan.